


Ah, yes, torment!

by secreterces5



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Max and Wilson get to be cute :), Max and Winny get to bond, Maxwell’s last name is Carsons, Multi, Polish Wilson, Queen Charlie abuses Their incomplete knowledge of how humans work, This isn’t very long but I’m still figuring some parts out while wanting to show it off, it is MY fanfic and I get to put in as many star emojis as I want to, so it’s gonna be posted as a few short chapters, southern Charlie, the kids call Maxwell “uncle”, the staff at the hotel in San Fran adopted Charlie because she’s baby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:26:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28893618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secreterces5/pseuds/secreterces5
Summary: They didn’t know all that much about how humans worked. They’ve learned some of it from Maxwell, and a smaller bit from Wilson, but Charlie discovers that there’s still some things that escape Their grasp, and she uses this to her advantage whenever she sees an oppourtunity to help the Survivors. This time, it’s how she invents the Winter’s Feast for the Constant.
Relationships: Maxwell & Winona, Maxwell/Wilson (Don't Starve), past and confusing Maxwell/Charlie
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	Ah, yes, torment!

**Author's Note:**

> I bent the rules about how the gifts work, just a little. I bent the rules about how the whole Constant works, honestly. Maxwell, please don’t kill me.

Quietly, the queen watched as yet another winter approached the Constant. She watched as the rabbits’ fur started turning white, and the bees all around appeared outside of their hives less and less until they stopped completely, and as redbirds left and snowbirds took their place. She liked the small seasonal changes, she liked that it wasn’t just about snow appearing out of nowhere and the Survivors freezing to death over and over again.

Speaking of the Survivors, they, too, were getting ready for yet another season of frostbite and avoiding walrus camps. She watched as the adults rushed to make as many pieces of warm clothing as they could possibly manage, and hurried to grow as much food as the little time they had left before winter arrived would allow them.

She watched as her sister took off the fluffy warm west she was wearing and gave it to a little blonde girl, patting her hair before getting back to work. The girl didn’t speak up, but smiled in a quiet “thank you.” It made Charlie proud.

She watched as the magician and the scientist looked over a haphazard list of things needed to be done, making sure they didn’t forget anything that could make or break their plan to survive the harsh season coming. They were smiling at each other. It made her claws curl until they were jabbing into the armrests of the Throne.

It was mostly moments like this one when They’d offer her quiet whispers of comfort. Not words, per se, not exactly, but feeling of warmth traveling through whatever she now had for blood, and a gentle lull helping her mind quiet down. The process of quieting her down was forceful, she knew it wasn’t out of kindness or empathy. She still thanked Them for calming her down.

A question was raised, and the queen nodded. “Actually, yes, I’ve been thinking of a new.. special event, for our lovely guests.” _Because they need a break, badly,_ she didn’t say out loud. Although who knew if she still had enough privacy left to think things to only herself. She allowed herself to hope so, though, because otherwise They would’ve definitely protested against what she was about to suggest.

They prompted her to go on, so she did: “In the world I came from, we used to celebrate in winter, as a year reached its end, many religions believed that important things happened on certain days around that time.”

There was what in a human would pass as a snicker, a sinister chuckle over the idea of gods and powerful beings that They believed to be nothing but lies. The queen ignored it, she had a point to get to.

“I figured we could let the Survivors celebrate something similar.”

The shadows dissolved into a cacophony of chaotic whispers, she had confused Them, because why would They ever let their pathetic puppets have fun of that sort?

But Charlie had an answer ready: “It isn’t ‘fun’ for them, not at all! It comes with all sorts of stress, and expectations and pressure, and think of all the horribly sad memories of their previous lives it will bring up! I know usually we go more for monsters and things that can kill them and such, but I think we may have been ignoring the emotional aspect of torture in the Constant, and frankly, that’s kind of a letdown.”

The whispers turned into insulted screeching in her brain and she winced, but stood her ground. “Now now, you rely on me for knowledge of humans, right? And I’ve provided so many fun ways to hurt them, haven’t I?” Her voice is sweet and calm, but speaking those words out loud makes her heart throb. She didn’t like admitting what she’d been doing all this time, not out loud, it felt like she was willingly throwing her humanity away. But it did please Them to hear it, and she really, really wanted this to happen.

The shadows had settled, until finally, a collective feeling of approval flooded her mind like a wave of liquid sugar, and she was ordered to continue. So, she started her own preparations for winter.

* ⍋ ⋆ *⋆ ⍋ *⋆⍋⋆ *⋆ ⍋* ⋆ ⍋⋆*

Maxwell watched the two survivors in front of him with furrowed brows. “And you’re saying… it just dropped after killing a gobbler?”

Willow nodded. “Yeah. Neither of us have ever seen it before, but we assumed maybe you’d have an idea, given, well.. you know.”

“Mhm.”

“That you made most of this place when you were still in charge of torturing us.”

Maxwell groaned, “yes, Willow, I understood, thank you.”

“So what is it?” Webber, who was holding up the mysterious object, asked. “Should it not have dropped from a gobbler?”

“Most definitely not, it shouldn’t have dropped from anything, it has no reason to exist in the Constant at all!” the magician said, somewhat frustrated. “Which must mean that Charlie’s made it, but why in the world– it makes no sense!” Maybe she was mocking them, winter was just around the corner after all.

“Okay yeah I don’t really care that much about which one of you made which monstrosity, old man,” the firestarter said in a disinterested tone. “Is it going to kill me or not?”

“Yea, uncle Maxwell, what is it??”

He took the small object into his hand and glared at it like it was the source of all his problems. “It’s… a candy cane.”


End file.
